Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

opiate69

opiate69's Journal
opiate69's Journal
June 3, 2013

Not necessarily so - at least if you're talking about naked eye stars..

The farthest stars we can see with our naked eye are somewhere around 4,000 light years away.. depending on conditions, location, etc. Considering the 5 - 10 billlion year or so average life span of a typical star, it's unlikely that many of the stars we see have burned out or gone nova since the light left them. Also, analysis of the light we do see enables us to determine where in it's life cycle a star is. A star like Betelgeuse may possibly have gone nova already, since we know it is in the final stages of it's life cycle. But not that many of the visible stars are in that state as far as we can tell.

Profile Information

Member since: 2003 before July 6th
Number of posts: 10,129
Latest Discussions»opiate69's Journal